College | Music Tour to Australia

Music Tour to Victoria, Australia

On the 15th of August, twenty five students, set off to Geelong and Melbourne, Australia to take part in the College’s first ever Music Tour! The boys were accompanied by four teachers namely; Mr Kalonga, Mr Mabodo, Mr Chipembere and Mr Bekoe.

The purpose of this tour was to provide the opportunity for our students to develop a greater understanding of diversity and seek to develop cultural understanding between Zimbabwe and Australia through Music.

The tour was an incredible life changing experience! Our students were exposed to people from different cultural, religious, geographic and socio-economic backgrounds and this allowed them to interact with and learn from people who are different from themselves and to participate in new and unique experiences beyond their own communities. Moreover the boys, developed positive relationships with others, understand a broader range of perspectives, and developed the knowledge and skills needed for participation in our multicultural society.

The tour also included fantastic Music performing opportunities in famous concert venues and doing workshops at several junior and senior schools in Victoria and it was really amazing to see how much the Australians loved and enjoyed our music. The groups that went on this tour were Marimba, Pipe band Drum Corp, A cappella and Jazz band and all these groups were extremely outstanding on and off the stage. They showcased their talents exceptionally well and compliments were received on daily basis.

The highlights of the tour were being welcomed by the Deputy Mayor of Geelong and receiving astounding hospitality from the local people, workshops at Deakin University, interviews by a radio company, the College boys featuring in the Geelong newspaper, performing at Geelong Performing Arts Centre, doing flash mobs at shopping malls, Melbourne airport, visiting and performing at St Bedes and Kardinia College which had unbelievable and state of the art Music facilities and visiting youth centres and old age homes.

Besides a hectic schedule, there was time set aside for some shopping, relaxing and fun activities. The boys and teachers went to watch Australian Football at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), played beach volleyball, travelled the Great Ocean Road which is one of the world’s most scenic coastal drives, went for bowling, movies and also spent some time at the jump and bounce trampoline park, which was all exciting.

On behalf of the Music department, I would like to take this time to thank the College management and parents for this huge opportunity, this tour was first of its kind and without any shadow of doubt it was really successful. The boys were assured a unique blend of excursions and performance opportunities that left them with unforgettable experiences and a renewed passion for music-making. The people in Victoria loved everything to do with us and a great reputation was built by our College boys in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia!

I hope this will be made an annual tour as I am certainly sure that this tour has enriched our Music department, school and country as a whole and Aussies are eagerly waiting for our return.